UK Proscribes IRGC and GRU Volunteer Corps as Terrorist Organizations With Up to 14 Years Prison for Support

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed in a written statement to Parliament that the government is designating Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right (IMCR), and Russia's GRU Volunteer Corps under the new National Security (State Threats) Act, which received Royal Assent the previous week, with support for any of the three carrying up to 14 years in prison 12. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the move separately at a Downing Street reception for Jewish communal leaders, stating those found assisting the groups face the same 14-year exposure 3. GOV.UK said IMCR has claimed seven attacks at UK sites linked to Jewish and Israeli communities, including the March 23 arson of four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green, that IRGC Qods Force members almost certainly directed those attacks, and that the GRU Volunteer Corps, controlled by Russian military intelligence, recruits individuals online to conduct sabotage, arson, and harassment operations 2. The designations, pending parliamentary approval expected within the week, remove the requirement for prosecutors to prove a foreign-power connection and set maximum sentences of life imprisonment for sabotage carried out on the groups' behalf 24. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper separately summoned Iran's ambassador over the matter 4.